FR3055602B1 - RAILWAY VEHICLE COMPRISING A SUPERVISION SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USING SUCH A SUPERVISION SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

This rail vehicle comprises: - a plurality of maintenance sensors (10, 11, 12) each associated with a railway vehicle equipment; a supervisory system (20) for the railway vehicle, comprising a central computer (21), a network switch (23) and a diagnostic unit (232) separate from the central computer (21). The network switch (23) is adapted to collect maintenance data received by the central computer (21) from the maintenance sensors and to send the maintenance data to the diagnostic unit (232), and the diagnostic unit (232) is programmed to automatically process these maintenance data according to pre-established processing rules (R (X)) so as to establish a diagnosis on at least one of the railway vehicle equipment.

Description

Railway vehicle comprising a supervision system and method of using such a supervision system The invention relates to a rail vehicle comprising a supervision system. The invention also relates to a method of using such a supervision system.

Rail vehicles are known, such as passenger trains, which are equipped with a supervision system, adapted to supervise the operation of the railway vehicle, in particular with a view to facilitating maintenance.

In such a railway vehicle, various equipment of the railway vehicle is provided with sensors, which are able to measure a state of operation of this equipment and to transmit data relating to this operating state to a central computer of the rail vehicle supervision system. . Such a supervision system is often referred to by the acronym TCMS, for "Train Control and Monitoring System" in English.

This central computer generally incorporates a diagnostic module, which is configured to process the information provided by the sensors associated with the equipment of the railway vehicle, in order to perform diagnostics on the operation of this equipment. This system makes it possible to obtain information on failures of railway vehicle equipment and to facilitate the maintenance of the rail vehicle.

This solution does not give complete satisfaction.

In particular, any modification of the railway vehicle, such as the modification of a rail vehicle equipment, or the addition of additional sensors associated with other equipment that was not originally planned, requires a modification of the system. supervision. Such a modification of the supervision system typically requires reprogramming of the central computer and / or the communication system between the central computer and the sensors so that the diagnostic module can continue to operate.

Such operations are complex and expensive to implement, and are not always feasible by a rail vehicle operator. The maintenance of the railway vehicle is complicated. It is these drawbacks that the invention intends to remedy more particularly, by proposing a rail vehicle supervision system that has greater flexibility of use and whose management throughout the lifetime of the train. be facilitated. To this end, the invention relates to a railway vehicle, comprising: - a plurality of maintenance sensors each associated with a railway vehicle equipment and being adapted to issue maintenance data relating to the operation of the equipment with which it is associated; - a rail vehicle supervision system, including a central computer; a common data bus which connects the maintenance sensors to the central computer to automatically transmit the maintenance data from the maintenance sensors to the central computer;

The supervisory system further comprises a network switch and a diagnostic unit separate from the central computer, while the network switch is adapted to collect the maintenance data transmitted by the maintenance sensors and to send these maintenance data to the mainframe. of the diagnostic unit, and the diagnostic unit is programmed to automatically process the maintenance data received, according to pre-established treatment rules, so as to establish a diagnosis on at least one of the railway vehicle equipment.

According to advantageous but non-mandatory aspects of the invention, the invention may incorporate one or more of the following technical characteristics, taken in any technically permissible combination: - The network switch is programmed to collect the maintenance data, according to identifiers associated with these maintenance data. - The railway vehicle further comprises an additional maintenance sensor associated with a railway vehicle equipment and connected to the diagnostic unit for transmitting maintenance data to this diagnostic unit without passing through the central computer. - The supervision system comprises a data communication interface configured to transmit, to a remote maintenance server, information representative of the diagnosis established by the diagnostic unit according to the maintenance data received. - The supervision system includes a user interface adapted to acquire treatment rules provided by a user and the diagnostic unit is further configured to establish the diagnosis according to the treatment rules acquired. - The common data bus is a field bus. - The network switch is connected to the diagnostic unit via an Ethernet data link. - The central computer is programmed to automatically generate event reports based on the data received from the maintenance sensors and to automatically transmit the generated event reports to a remote maintenance server.

According to another aspect, the invention also relates to a method of operating a rail vehicle supervision system, comprising steps of: a) transmission of maintenance data, by maintenance sensors associated with equipment of the railway vehicle, the maintenance data being conveyed from the maintenance sensors to the supervision system by means of a common data bus of the railway vehicle; b) the collection, by a network switch of the supervision system, of the issued maintenance data, and sending of these maintenance data to a diagnostic unit of the supervision system, the diagnostic unit being distinct from the central computer; c) processing, by the diagnostic unit, received maintenance data, according to pre-established treatment rules.

Thanks to the invention, because the diagnostic functions are implemented in the diagnostic unit, which is here separate from the central computer, the maintenance of the supervision system is facilitated. Indeed, the maintenance of the supervision system is decorrelated from that of the central computer and therefore of the railway vehicle. This is important, since the various equipment of the rail vehicle has a life cycle that evolves differently, including the supervision system. The use of the supervision system is thus more flexible and adapts more simply to the needs of a railway vehicle operator. The maintenance of the railway vehicle is then facilitated. The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will emerge more clearly in the light of the description which follows, of an embodiment of a railway vehicle given solely by way of example and with reference. to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a railway vehicle equipped with a supervision system according to the invention; - Figure 2 shows schematically the supervision system of the rail vehicle of Figure 1; FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a management method of the maintenance system of FIG. 2.

Figure 1 shows a rail vehicle 1, for example a passenger train or an urban transport vehicle, such as a tram. The rail vehicle 1 is adapted to run on railway rails 2 by means of wheels being propelled by means of a motor, not shown.

The railway vehicle 1 comprises a plurality of equipment 10, 11, 12, for example mechanical, hydraulic or electric, necessary to ensure proper operation of the railway vehicle 1.

Such equipment 10, 11, 12 are intended to be monitored over time in their operating state, in particular to establish diagnostics for carrying out preventive and / or curative maintenance operations of these equipment. .

For example, as an illustration, the equipment 10, 11 and 12 may correspond to all or part of the elements forming a traction chain, a braking system, a passenger information system or a heating system and / or air conditioner. For this purpose, the railway vehicle 1 comprises maintenance sensors, not shown, associated with said equipment 10, 11, 12 of the railway vehicle 1. Each of these sensors is configured to measure an operating state of the equipment with which it is associated , and to generate data representative of this operating state.

This makes it possible to monitor the operation of said equipment. Such maintenance sensors are well known to those skilled in the art and are not described in more detail here.

In this example, only three devices 10, 11, 12 are illustrated, although in practice this number is different, for example greater than or equal to ten or one hundred, or even equal to one.

Here, each maintenance sensor is associated with a single equipment 10, 11, 12. Alternatively, however, the same equipment can be associated with several different maintenance sensors. For example, these sensors can measure the same physical quantity at different points of an equipment, or even measure different physical quantities relating to the same equipment.

The data generated by the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12 are here called maintenance data and are specifically intended to be processed to establish a diagnostic relating to the operating status of the equipment to which the sensor is associated. For example, the data is encoded in digital form, for example in the form of a data frame according to a predetermined communication protocol.

In this example, the maintenance data are digital values of a physical quantity representative of an operating state of the equipment associated with the sensor from which they emanate. These maintenance data are here called variables and carry the reference V. These maintenance data vary according to the time and / or during the lifetime of the associated equipment.

The railway vehicle 1 also comprises a supervision system 20 to which the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12 are connected and the role of which is described below.

In particular, the supervision system 20 is able to communicate with a maintenance server 3 remote and outside the railway vehicle 1.

The railway vehicle 1 also comprises a data bus 30 common to the entire railway vehicle 1. The maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12 are connected to the supervision system 20 by means of the data bus 30.

Here, the data bus 30 is also used to connect other elements of the railway vehicle 1 separate from the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12 and / or the supervision system 20.

In other words, other data than the maintenance data can pass through the data bus 30.

Also, each maintenance data V is associated with a digital identifier, which makes it possible to ensure the routing of this maintenance data within the communication bus 30. In particular, this identifier makes it possible to indicate that this data is intended to be processed by a diagnostic unit of the supervision system 20. For example, for each maintenance data, this identifier is recorded in the header of a frame containing this maintenance data V. This identifier advantageously also indicates which maintenance sensor comes from this maintenance data.

In this example, the data bus 30 is a wired field bus. By way of illustration, this is a fieldbus of CIP technology, for "Common Industrial Protocol" in English, conforming to the specifications of the "ODVA, Inc." consortium. As an illustrative example, one of the equipment 10, 11, 12 of the railway vehicle 1 associated with a maintenance sensor is an automatic door of the railway vehicle 1.

In known manner, such an automatic door is placed in an opening on a wall of a car or a box of the railway vehicle 1 to manage the access of passengers in the railway vehicle 1. This automatic door is provided with a motorized opening / closing mechanism. This mechanism deteriorates over time, for example because of repeated or excessive requests from passengers of the rail vehicle 1.

An indicator of the operating state of this mechanism is the so-called opening time, that is to say the time required for this mechanism to switch the automatic gate between open and closed states. For example, an opening time that is greater than a predetermined threshold is indicative of wear or malfunction, requiring maintenance.

Thus, a maintenance sensor is associated with this automatic door and is programmed to measure the opening time of this door each time such an opening is triggered, then to generate a maintenance data containing information representative of this time. opening, for example at each solicitation of the automatic door. The maintenance data, or variable V, corresponds to the speed of opening of the door for a given moment. This maintenance data is transmitted on the bus 30 to the supervision system 20.

The supervision system 20 here comprises a central computer 21, a network switch 22, a maintenance module 23 and a data communication interface 24.

The system 20 as well as the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12 together form a system of the "Train Control and Monitoring System" type in the English language.

The maintenance module 23 comprises a data sending unit 231 and a diagnostic unit 232, each comprising a programmable computing unit. The data sending unit 231 is connected to the communication interface 24 for transmitting information to the maintenance server 3.

For example, the communication interface 24 comprises a radio antenna for establishing a wireless data link with the maintenance server 3. Such a wireless data link is for example WiFi type or GSM or LTE type. Alternatively, it may be a near field data link of the NFC type or inductively coupled.

The network switch 22 is connected to the diagnostic unit 232, by means of a data link, here Ethernet type. The network switch 22 is here an element of the data bus 30 and makes it possible to receive the data coming from the maintenance sensors of the equipment 10, 11 and 12. The central computer 21 is connected to the communication interface 24 as well as to the data bus 30. The central computer 21 is configured to receive data from the rail vehicle 1 via the data bus 30, including maintenance data from the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12, as well as to analyze the behavior of the railway vehicle 1 based on these received data.

In other words, the central computer 21 is also programmed to analyze the behavior of the railway vehicle as a function of other data received from the data bus 30 than those emanating from the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12. L central computer 21 comprises a programmable electronic calculator 210, such as a microprocessor, as well as an information recording medium, such as an internal memory, capable of storing executable instructions to ensure the operation of the computer central 21. The central computer 21 is also programmed to generate event reports intended to be sent to the maintenance server 3, for example by means of the interface 24.

The event reports include E (X) events, or alerts, which indicate a malfunction of the railway vehicle 1 requiring attention from a railway vehicle operator 1. Each event E (X) is for example associated with a railway vehicle equipment 1 and a predefined error code, for example recorded as a digital signal. The data sending unit 231 is here adapted to send E (X) event reports and / or V variables to the maintenance server 3. The data sending unit 231 is, for example able to generate event reports from data received and / or transmitted by the diagnostic unit 232 and to send the event reports to the maintenance server 3.

The network switch 22 is configured to collect the maintenance data flowing on the data bus 30 and received by the system 20.

For example, of all the data received by the system 20 from the data bus 30, only the maintenance data is collected by the network switch 22. For example, the network switch 22 selects this maintenance data on the basis of the identifier associated with each of the maintenance data. In this example, the network switch 22 is an Ethernet switch.

The network switch 22 is further programmed to send these maintenance data to the diagnostic unit 232. Alternatively, the network switch 22 can be programmed to send to the diagnostic unit 232 all the data circulating on the bus. 30. The diagnostic unit 232 is programmed to automatically process the maintenance data received from the network switch 22, in order to establish a diagnosis on the railway vehicle equipment or equipment associated with the data emanating respectively from the sensor (s). maintenance of equipment 10, 11 and 12 corresponding. This treatment is performed here according to pre-established rules of treatment R (X).

Advantageously, for each maintenance data item, one or more appropriate R (X) processing rules are automatically selected by the diagnostic unit 232 depending on the nature of the equipment with which the maintenance sensor from which this data item is derived is associated. maintenance.

For example, the diagnostic unit 232 is provided with a programmable electronic computer and an information recording medium, the latter containing pre-established processing rules.

In the illustrative example of the automatic door of the train, the processing rules R (X) associated with this variable make it possible to compare the value of the opening time with a predefined threshold. If this opening time is determined to exceed the predefined threshold, then the door is considered to open too slowly. On the contrary, if the value is below the predefined threshold, the door is considered to open at an acceptable speed.

Alternatively, several thresholds can be defined. For example, if the opening time is between the first and second predefined thresholds, then the door is considered to open too slowly but does not require immediate intervention. If the value is greater than the second predefined threshold, the door is considered to open too slowly and requires intervention. Finally, if the opening time is less than the first predefined threshold, then the door is considered as not presenting a problem and opening at a normal speed. The diagnostic unit 232 is here also programmed to send the established diagnosis to the maintenance server 3 by means of the interface 24.

In this way, the supervision system 20 can evolve according to the needs of a railway vehicle operator 1 throughout the lifetime of the railway vehicle 1.

Indeed, typically, a rail vehicle 1 has a life of several decades. It is thus common that, during the life of this railway vehicle 1, equipment installed from the beginning, such as the data bus 30 exhibit a technological obsolescence which makes their connection to more recent elements, such as additional maintenance sensors, particularly difficult and expensive, or even impossible in some cases without having to completely change the data bus 30. Thanks to the invention, by dissociating the diagnostic unit 232 from the central computer 21, provides greater flexibility in the use of the supervisory system 20. It therefore facilitates the maintenance of the railway vehicle 1.

Advantageously, the supervision system 20 further comprises a user interface 25 adapted to acquire additional processing rules R (X) provided by a user. The diagnostic unit 232 is thus configured to establish the diagnosis according to the processing rules acquired by means of this user interface 25.

Thus, a train operator can customize the operation of the diagnostic unit 232, for example to program a treatment that was not originally planned during the installation of the supervision system 20.

For example, these processing rules are acquired by the user interface 25 from the remote maintenance server 3.

Alternatively, the user interface 25 is connected to an on-board computer of the railway vehicle such that these processing rules are provided by an operator of the rail vehicle from this on-board computer.

Advantageously, the railway vehicle comprises at least one additional maintenance sensor 40, associated with a railway vehicle equipment. This additional maintenance sensor is separate from the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12. This maintenance sensor 40 is connected to the diagnostic unit 232 to transmit to this diagnostic unit 232 maintenance data from the maintenance sensor. additional without passing through the central computer 21. Thus, the additional sensor 40 is not connected to the data bus 30.

In this way, additional maintenance sensors, which were not originally provided during the design or construction of the railway vehicle 1 can be added within this railway vehicle 1 and connected to the supervision system 20 without having need to modify the common data bus 30 or the central computer 21. Thus, again, the operating flexibility of the supervisory system 20 is improved.

An example of operation of the supervision system 20 is now described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and with the help of FIGS. 1 and 2. First, maintenance data are emitted by the equipment maintenance sensors. 10, 11 and 12 to the data bus 30 to the central computer 21 of the supervision system 20.

Then, during a step 1000, the network switch 22 collects the data from the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12.

In this example, the equipment maintenance sensors 10, 11 and 12 automatically send, over time, the maintenance data to the system 20 via the network switch 22. As a variant, however, the collection of these data maintenance is performed at the initiative of the system 20, which automatically interrogates the maintenance sensors of the equipment 10, 11 and 12, at times predefined in time, for example by sending a request for this purpose.

Then, the central computer 21 generates, for example, an event report according to the maintenance data received.

In a step 1002, the network switch 22 automatically collects the received maintenance data V and automatically transmits it to the diagnostic unit 232 via data links.

Then, in a step 1004, the diagnostic unit 232 automatically processes the maintenance data received from the network switch 22. This processing is performed automatically according to pre-established processing rules R (X). Advantageously, this processing is carried out, in whole or in part, as a function of additional processing rules that have previously been provided to the supervision system 20 via the user interface 25.

Finally, advantageously, during a step 1006, the diagnosis established by the diagnostic unit 232 is automatically sent to the maintenance server 3, by means of the communication interface 24. Optionally, the sending unit of data 231 generates event reports from data received and / or transmitted by the diagnostic unit 232 and transmits the event reports to the maintenance server 3 via the communication interface 24. Optionally, the data sending unit 231 retrieves the maintenance data V received by the diagnostic unit 232 and transmits it to the maintenance server 3 via the communication interface 24.

The embodiments and alternatives contemplated above may be combined with one another to generate new embodiments.

Claims (8)

CLAIMS 1A rail vehicle (1), comprising: - a plurality of maintenance sensors each associated with a piece of equipment (10, 11, 12) of the railway vehicle (1) and being adapted to issue maintenance data relating to the operation of the equipment with which he is associated; a supervisory system (20) for the railway vehicle, comprising a central computer (21); - a common data bus (30) which connects the maintenance sensors to the central computer (21) for automatically transmitting the maintenance data from the maintenance sensors to the central computer (21); the railway vehicle (1) being characterized in that the supervision system (20) further comprises a network switch (22) and a diagnostic unit (232) separate from the central computer (21), in that the switch network (22) is adapted to collect the maintenance data transmitted by the maintenance sensors and to send these maintenance data to the diagnostic unit (232), and in that the diagnostic unit (232) is programmed to automatically process the maintenance data received, according to predetermined processing rules (R (X)), so as to establish a diagnosis on at least one of the equipment of the railway vehicle (1) and in that it comprises in in addition to an additional maintenance sensor (40), associated with a railway vehicle equipment (1) and connected to the diagnostic unit (232) for transmitting maintenance data to this diagnostic unit (232) without passing through ar the central computer (21). 2, -Road vehicle (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the network switch (22) is programmed to collect the maintenance data, according to identifiers associated with these maintenance data. 3. - Railway vehicle (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the supervision system (20) comprises a data communication interface (24) configured to transmit to a maintenance server remote (3), an information representative of the diagnosis established by the diagnostic unit (232) according to the maintenance data received. 4. - Railway vehicle (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the supervision system (20) comprises a user interface (25) adapted to acquire processing rules (R (X)) provided by a user and in that the diagnostic unit (232) is further configured to establish the diagnosis according to the acquired treatment rules. 5. - Railway vehicle (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the data bus (30) is a common field bus. 6. - Railway vehicle (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the network switch (22) is connected to the diagnostic unit (232) by means of an Ethernet type data link. 7. - Railway vehicle (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central computer (21) is programmed to automatically generate event reports (E (X)) according to data received from the maintenance sensors and to automatically transmit the generated event reports to a remote maintenance server (3). 8. - Method of operation of a supervision system (20) of a railway vehicle (1), characterized in that it comprises steps of: a) transmission (1000), maintenance data, by means of maintenance sensors associated with equipment (10, 11, 12) of the railway vehicle (1), the maintenance data being conveyed from the maintenance sensors to the supervision system (20) by means of a data bus (30). ) common rail vehicle (1); b) collecting, by a network switch (22) of the supervision system (20), issued maintenance data, and sending the maintenance data to a diagnostic unit (232) of the supervision system. (20), the diagnostic unit (232) being separate from the central computer (21); c) transmitting, by an additional maintenance sensor (40) associated with a railway vehicle equipment (1), maintenance data to the diagnostic unit (232) without passing through the central computer (21); d) processing, by the diagnostic unit (232), received maintenance data, according to pre-established processing rules.